North Canton Hoover will be a football team to watch in 2009, according to the early evaluations made by Ohio High Magazine. The Vikings return senior RB Erick Howard, who was the 2008 Mr. Football award winner.

The Garfield football team will move from Division I to Division II starting this fall for the next two seasons under OHSAA guidelines. The divisional breakdowns are based on enrollment figures provided by the state.

Garfield coach Bob Sax said there are no drawbacks to moving to Division II. Garfield was 8-2 last season and missed the playoffs in Division I, Region 2.

Solon junior DE Darryl Baldwin (6-6, 250) could make his college decision by mid-July or sooner, according to Solon coach Jim McQuaide.

Baldwin plans to visit Penn State on June 12 and take his second visit to Ohio State on June 14. Baldwin, one of the state's top players in the 2010 class, has already visited Notre Dame, Michigan and Michigan State.

Field High School senior Traci Vandegrift has been selected to play on the 2009 USA Volleyball Women's Junior National A2 Volleyball Team.

Vandegrift, who is also a standout basketball and softball player for the Falcons, is one 10 athletes that will train for five days beginning July 16 in preparation for an international style competition in Ft Lauderdale, FL from July 21-25.

Hudson senior OL Brian Winters (6-5, 310) has been named to the Team USA roster for this summer's 2009 Junior World Championships in Canton.

Winters, a Kent State recruit, is one of 45 graduating high school seniors to be selected on America's first national team in the sport. USA Football announced its initial 36 players on April 14 and the remaining nine roster slots were confirmed today.

Orrville junior MLB Chase Hoobler (6-3, 225) has been offered by Ball State, according to ScoutingOhio.com. Hoobler also has offers from Akron, Miami (Ohio), Louisville and Indiana, according to the Web site.

West Branch High School senior Chad Butcher has committed to attend Mount Union College and compete on the football team this fall.

Butcher, a 6-2, 175-pound wide receiver, was an all-conference, all-district, all-county selection and team captain for coach Bob Altenhof at West Branch High School. For his career, Butcher caught 104 passes for 1,541 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Walsh Jesuit’s John Mastronicolas, 18, has made a commitment to continue his academic and athletic career with the NCAA Division III baseball program at Marietta College, according to Walsh baseball coach Chris Kaczmar.

Solon junior DE Darryl Baldwin (6-6, 250) has been nominated to the U.S. Army All-American game and the Under Armour All-America game in January 2010, according to Solon coach Jim McQuaide.

Baldwin is one of the state's top players in the 2010 class. He is considering the likes of Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State and other Big Ten schools. He might make a decision early this summer.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The OHSAA reassigns schools to divisions every other year, and changes in football resulted in 117 schools (16.3 percent) making divisional changes for 2009 and 2010 from the last two years. The changes were approved Thursday by the OHSAA’s Board of Directors at their May meeting.

Canton South junior WR Jerald Robinson (6-2, 175) is one of 17 Ohio football players in the 2010 class to be nominated for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl game. Robinson is one of 400 players nationally to be nominated for the game.

Robinson, who has orally committed to play at Michigan, is the only local player on the list. Solon junior DL Darryl Baldwin is also on the list.

Multiple National Basketball Association sources Monday have confirmed that Cleveland Cavaliers forward and Akron native LeBron James has been named the league’s Most Valuable Player for the 2008-2009 season.

James, a graduate of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, is the first Cavalier to win the award. He led the Cavaliers to an NBA best record of 66-16 in the regular season after leading the United States of America to a gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China.